RSSDo Patio Heaters Increase Global Warming?
August 21, 2007 · Written by Joel
Previously we have written about whether the smoking ban will increase global warming, essentially because of an increase of outdoor heating areas in the UK for smokers.
Patio heaters have long been used around the world, yet their number in the UK is expected to increase from 1.2m to 2.3m this year. Heating the outdoors is never a really good idea, Chelsea Football Club spend around £30,000 a year keeping the directors seats warm at games as it is an inefficient way of keeping warm. As the Chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, Philip Sellwood said, “Why don’t people just wear a jumper?”.
The average patio heater apparently uses the same amount of energy as a gas hob uses in six months, so the effect on gloabl warming may be apparent as the average patio heater emits around 50kg of carbon dioxide per year. According to the Calor (Gas) Carbon Offsetting website, there are a few ways in which to be more responsible about your patio heating
- Turn down the thermostat in the home when you go outside
- Switch the heaters off at the end of the night
- Operate on half-power once fired up
Not only that, apparently the heat and CO2 are attracting “vast” numbers of mosquitos!
What do you think? A fuss about nothing, or a serious problem?
Enjoyed this post? Click on the Yahoo Buzz! button below to Buzz it up!
Interesting read.. I too did my little research and came with steps to reduce global warming….
Steps to reduce global warming
[...] Patio heaters are commonplace now, but they’re not good for the environment (see Life Goggles here) and if it’s too cold to sit outside even in a jumper, go inside and warm up. That told [...]
The latest gas patio heaters are a lot more energy efficient than the old gas guzzlers, although I suspect that this improvement in efficiency is more to do with the cost of gas and increasing popularity of residential outdoor heaters that concern for the planet!